Padres on deck: Visiting the downgraded Diamondbacks

San Diego Padres at Arizona Diamondbacks

• Monday: 6:40 p.m. (Padres.TV, MLBN)
• Tuesday: 6:40 p.m. (Padres.TV)
• Wednesday: 6:40 p.m. (Padres.TV)

In the standings

San Diego Padres (62-50, 2nd in NL West)

The Padres have won two of thee since the trade deadline and seven of their last eight games, pulling to within three games of the Dodgers in the division. San Diego is also the No. 3 wild-card team at the moment, up four games on the Reds and within a game of the No. 2 Mets. The Padres have lost four of seven so far this year to the Diamondbacks.

Arizona Diamondbacks (53-59, 4th in NL West)

The D-backs went 9-16 in July, prompting a sell-off that might have been foreshadowed when new ace Corbin Burnes was lost for the year to Tommy John surgery. Arizona has since traded off the likes of Eugenio Suarez, Josh Naylor and Merrill Kelly. The D-backs had lost six in a row before winning their last two games in Sacramento.

Pitching matchups

Monday

Padres LHP J.P. Sears (7-9, 4.95 ERA)   |   A 3.34 strikeout-to-walk ratio would be a career high if the season ended today and so would his home run rate (1.9 per nine innings). Sears had a 5.48 ERA in 10 starts at the A’s Triple-A ballpark in Sacramento before the trade to San Diego and a 4.55 ERA in 12 road starts. His only appearance against the Diamondbacks was a no-decision last year (6 IP, 3 ER0.

D-backs RHP Brandon Pfaadt (10-7, 5.11 ERA)   |   He allowed a season-high 11 hits en route to giving up seven runs in 4 ⅔ innings last week in Detroit. Pfaadt has a 6.55 ERA on the road and a 3.68 ERA at Chase Field. He has a 3.24 ERA in seven starts against the Padres and beat them in July with two runs over eight innings.

Tuesday

Padres RHP Yu Darvish (1-3, 6.46 ERA)   |   He struck out seven over seven shutout innings in his first win of the season last week against the Mets. He allowed just two hits and did not walk a batter. Darvish threw just 76 pitches in the start, just his fifth since coming off the injured list. Darvish allowed two runs in 3⅔ innings in a loss to Arizona last month.

D-backs RHP Ryne Nelson (6-3, 3.20 ERA)   |   He has a 1.95 ERA over his last nine starts, leading Arizona to seven wins in that stretch. That includes allowing an unearned run over five innings in a no-decision against the Padres in mid-June. Nelson has a 5.04 ERA over 48⅓ career innings against the Padres.

Wednesday

Padres LHP Nestor Cortes (1-1, 9.00 ERA)   |   He’s making his Padres debut after coming over in a trade with the Brewers last week. It’s also his first since an elbow flexor strain sent him to the injured list. Cortes threw 93 pitches over 5⅔ innings in his final rehab start on July 24. Cortes lost his lone start against the Diamondbacks last year, allowing three runs in five innings.

D-backs RHP Anthony DeSclafani (1-2, 4.91 ERA)   |   The 35-year-old signed with the Diamondbacks in mid-June after opting out of a minor league deal with the Yankees. He allowed four runs in 2⅓ innings in a start on Aug. 1 and has maxed out at four innings out of the bullpen. DeSclafani allowed two runs in 2⅓ innings out of the bullpen against the Padres on June 15, but he has a 2.88 ERA in 59 ⅓ career innings against San Diego.

Team leaders

• OPS: Padres—3B Manny Machado (.860), OF Ryan O’Hearn (.825), OF Fernando Tatis Jr. (.809); D-backs—OF Corbin Carroll (.866), SS Geraldo Perdomo (.804), OF Lourdes Gurriel (.690).
• HRs: Padres—Machado (20), Tatis (17), OF Ramón Laureano (16); D-backs—Carroll (22), 2B Ketel Marte (21), Gurriel (12).
• RBIs: Padres—Machado (72), Sheets (54), Laureano (48); D-backs—Perdomo (75), Carroll (53), Gurriel (50).
• Steals: Padres—Tatis (22), SS Xander Bogaerts (16), Machado (10); D-backs—Perdomo (17), Carroll (14), Gurriel (8).
• Saves: Padres—RHP Robert Suarez (32-for-36, 3.28 ERA), RHP Mason Miller (20-for-23, 3.66 ERA); D-backs—RHP Kevin Ginkel (3-for-4, 7.36 ERA), LHP Kyle Nelson (1-for-1, 4.50 ERA), RHP Ryan Thompson (1-for-4, 4.45 ERA), LHP Jalen Beeks (1-for-3, 4.35 ERA).
• Holds: Padres—RHP Jason Adam (27, 1.86 ERA), RHP Jeremiah Estrada (23, 2.66 ERA), LHP Adrián Morejón (16, 2.17 ERA); D-backs—LHP Jalek Beeks (11), RHP Ryan Thompson (11, 4.45 ERA), Ginkel (6).

Training room

San Diego: C Michael King (shoulder) pitched into the fourth inning in his first rehab start for Triple-A El Paso on Sunday. He threw 61 pitches. RHP Joe Musgrove (Tommy John surgery) threw his first bullpen on Saturday—20 pitches, all fastballs. He’s hoping his progression makes him a bullpen option in the postseason.

Arizona: C Gabriel Moreno could return from the hand fracture by the middle of the month, but 1B Pavin Smith (oblique) and RHP Ryan Thompson (trap) remain without timetables. RHP Corbin Burnes (Tommy John), LHP Tommy Henry (Tommy John), LHP A.J. Puk (elbow) and RHP Justin Martinez (Tommy John) are among the D-backs lost for the season.